Cops looking for slow car thief

Columbia County investigators are looking for a car thief who took more than an hour to hot-wire and steal a car.

The owner of Omar’s Barbershop, at 3741 Washington Road in Martinez, told authorities that someone stole his car from the barbershop parking lot early Wednesday. He had left the 2007 Ford Mustang in the lot in front of the business at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the car was missing when a salesperson arrived to open the business Wednesday morning.

Surveillance video footage showed a man wearing dark pants, a royal blue shirt and work boots carrying a satchel walk onto the lot at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and make his way to the Mustang. The thief got into the car and then spent more than an hour inside before getting it to crank.

Just before 2 a.m., the thief drove the car from the lot and headed west on Washington Road.